Main Points :
- Singapore Exchange (SGX)’s derivatives arm has launched perpetual futures for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), available to accredited and institutional investors.
- On the first trading day (Nov 24, 2025), the new contracts recorded nearly 2,000 lots traded — about US$ 35 million notional value — with open interest around 58 lots (~US$ 1 million).
- The futures are cash-settled, with no expiry date. They are benchmarked to the iEdge CoinDesk Crypto Indices, and use a funding-rate mechanism to keep futures prices aligned with spot prices.
- The launch is backed by major clearing firms such as Marex, offering centralized clearing and traditional risk-management standards, bringing transparency and trust — historically lacking in many crypto-derivatives platforms.
- This move potentially marks a major shift: bringing what has so far been largely offshore, unregulated trading — over US$ 187 billion per day in global perpetual-futures volume — onto a regulated Asian exchange.
Introduction: A New Chapter for Institutional Crypto in Asia
On November 24, 2025, SGX Derivatives made history by launching Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures. These contracts — which carry no expiry date and offer cash-settled exposure to the price movements of BTC and ETH — represent a convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) infrastructure and the dynamic world of digital assets. For institutional investors, this launch provides an opportunity to engage with crypto markets under a regulated, exchange-cleared framework. For the broader crypto ecosystem, it could mark the beginning of a new phase of maturation and mainstream adoption.
The first day’s trading results — nearly 2,000 lots traded, about US$ 35 million in notional value, with roughly US$ 1 million in open interest — already suggest strong appetite for regulated crypto derivatives.
In the sections below, we explore how these new contracts work, why they matter, the risks and potential challenges, and what this might mean for the future of crypto markets — especially for those looking for new assets or yield opportunities.
What Are Perpetual Futures — and Why They Matter
Perpetual Futures: Mechanics and Appeal
Unlike traditional futures contracts, which have a fixed expiry date, perpetual futures — or “perps” — are designed to be held indefinitely. Traders can long or short the underlying asset without worrying about rolling over contracts as expiry approaches.
In practice, perpetual futures use a “funding-rate” mechanism: periodically, traders on one side (long or short) pay funding to the other, depending on the gap between the futures price and the spot price. This incentivizes prices to remain anchored close to spot prices.
For crypto markets, perps have become the de facto standard for derivatives trading. Their popularity stems from several features: 24/7 trading aligned with the always-on nature of crypto markets; potentially high leverage; no need for physical delivery; and simplified position management (since there’s no expiry to manage).
SGX’s Perpetual Futures: Institutional-Grade Structure
What’s new and different with SGX’s offering is that these are exchange-cleared contracts, available to institutional, accredited, and expert investors under a regulated framework — a marked contrast to the unregulated, offshore derivatives platforms that dominate crypto perps today.
The contracts are benchmarked to the iEdge CoinDesk Crypto Indices, providing an industry-standard reference for pricing and ensuring transparency. Settlement is cash-based, avoiding delivery logistics of actual crypto.
Support from established clearing houses — such as Marex — adds a layer of risk management, capital discipline, and counterparty transparency that many crypto-native exchanges lack.
To many in the industry, SGX’s perps are not just another product — they represent a bridge between TradFi and crypto-native ecosystems. As noted by SGX leadership, this launch is a deliberate step to apply global markets’ institutional discipline to crypto’s most traded derivatives payoff.
First-Day Performance: Encouraging but Just a Start
The first day of trading was marked by impressive activity. Nearly 2,000 lots were executed, corresponding to around US$ 35 million in notional volume. Open interest by the end of the session stood at about 58 lots — roughly US$ 1 million.
These numbers may still be modest compared to the massive volumes seen on offshore perps platforms (which collectively average over US$ 187 billion per day globally).
However, considering this is day one, with access limited to accredited/institutional investors and with the infrastructure just coming online, the activity suggests meaningful interest. Importantly, the presence of established clearing members (e.g., Marex) from day one signals SGX’s commitment to ensuring sufficient liquidity and risk-management capacity.
For market watchers and potential institutional entrants, this debut provides a data point — and potential entry path — into regulated crypto derivatives trading anchored in Asia.
Why This Launch Matters More Than It Appears
Bridging TradFi and Crypto in Asia
Until now, much of crypto derivatives trading — especially perpetual futures — has been conducted on offshore venues, often with limited regulation, unclear counterparty risk, and high volatility.
By bringing perps onto a regulated exchange (SGX), with exchange clearing, transparent pricing benchmarks, and institutional-grade margin and risk management, the door opens for pension funds, hedge funds, banks, and other traditional institutions to allocate to crypto — without the same level of operational or legal risk they face trading on unregulated platforms.
Given Asia’s growing role in global crypto trading volumes, and with Singapore already striving to position itself as a digital-asset hub, this launch could accelerate adoption in institutional portfolios across the region. As one industry executive put it, SGX’s offering meets the “rising institutional crypto demand” by merging TradFi infrastructure with crypto-native products.
Potential for Improved Market Structure and Transparency
Because SGX perps will be settled via centralized clearing and benchmarked to recognized indices, this may help reduce counterparty risk — a major concern in many crypto exchanges.
Furthermore, by using funding-rate mechanisms instead of contract expiry rollovers, SGX’s perps can provide smoother exposure, lower rollover risk, and more predictable cash flows — attributes that may appeal to sophisticated traders and institutions looking to hedge, arbitrage, or manage crypto exposure alongside traditional assets.
Risks, Challenges, and What Could Go Wrong
While the launch of SGX perps is a major milestone, it does not guarantee a smooth ride. Several risks and caveats remain:
- Liquidity risk: Although first-day volume was promising, it remains small compared to global volumes on offshore platforms. Institutional adoption will need sustained demand — not just day-one interest.
- Funding-rate volatility & basis risk: Even though SGX uses established indices and a funding-rate mechanism, perpetual futures by nature can deviate from spot prices. In highly volatile periods, funding rates can swing, and the cost of holding large positions may become substantial. Academic literature on perpetual-futures pricing points out that deviations from spot can be non-trivial, especially under friction or market stress.
- Regulatory and institutional hurdles: While SGX provides a regulated framework, participating institutions must still navigate internal risk policies, margin requirements, and possibly regulatory scrutiny depending on jurisdiction. Not all global institutions may consider crypto exposure acceptable or compliant with their mandates.
- Competition from offshore exchanges: Offshore crypto exchanges remain dominant, and they may respond aggressively — offering higher leverage, lower fees, or innovative derivatives. For SGX to succeed, it must demonstrate consistent liquidity, reliability, and institutional trust over time.
What This Means for Crypto Investors, Traders, and Builders
For readers like you — who are interested in discovering new crypto assets, seeking potential yield or return sources, or building blockchain applications — SGX’s new offering signals several important implications:
- Diversified access: Instead of relying solely on spot markets or offshore derivatives, you (or your institution) may now access BTC/ETH exposure under a regulated framework, which may be more acceptable for conservative or compliance-focused portfolios.
- Better hedging and risk management: For projects or platforms exposed to crypto volatility (e.g., lending platforms, token-sale funds, or treasury-management operations), regulated perps offer a way to hedge positions using standard financial infrastructure.
- Institutional momentum could spill over to altcoins and new crypto products: The success of BTC/ETH perps could encourage SGX — or other regulated exchanges — to list derivatives tied to other assets (e.g., major altcoins, tokenized assets, etc.), expanding the ecosystem. Given your interest in stablecoins, new crypto assets, and institutional-grade adoption, this could open new avenues.
- Enhanced legitimacy for crypto in TradFi contexts: As more institutions use regulated exchanges for crypto exposure, crypto’s integration into traditional financial systems (treasury allocations, balance-sheet exposure, structured products) may accelerate. This may benefit projects seeking adoption, institutional partnerships, or regulatory clarity.
Visual Summary
Conclusion: A Milestone — But Watch What Comes Next
The debut of SGX’s Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures represents a watershed moment for institutional crypto adoption in Asia. By combining the flexibility and popularity of crypto-native perps with the robustness, transparency, and risk management frameworks of traditional exchanges, SGX has created a potentially powerful bridge between TradFi and digital assets.
For now, first-day trading volumes are a solid start but modest relative to global off-exchange scales. The long-term impact will depend on whether institutional demand sustains, whether liquidity providers and market makers commit resources, and whether regulatory and operational frameworks hold up under stress.
For crypto investors, traders, and builders — especially those looking for institutional-grade tools, yield strategies, or hedging mechanisms — SGX perps warrant close attention. If this initiative succeeds, it may pave the way for broader institutional participation, expansion into altcoins, and a more integrated crypto-financial ecosystem in Asia.
